Hearing Midnight's warning, everyone momentarily halted their attacks.
Gray was the first to recognize the newcomer, exclaiming, "Ah, that sleepy guy from Oración Seis!"
Natsu looked approvingly at their former-enemy-turned-ally, commenting, "That guy seems pretty reliable when he's actually awake."
While Natsu focused on this, everyone else simultaneously turned their attention behind Midnight.
There was no one chasing him...
Just as Midnight tried to warn them, a searing pain erupted from his back, sending him flying through the air.
Midnight appeared to be kicked by invisible air, tumbling through the sky before crashing heavily into the battle formation, grimacing in agony.
Racer quickly moved to shield him.
After a moment of stunned silence, everyone reacted, aiming their magic at the seemingly empty space.
The outer Alvarez battle formation seemed to understand exactly what was happening.
They returned to their previous standby combat posture, silently encircling the Fairy Tail members.
A prolonged, dead silence fell, broken only by the irritating sound of heavy rain hitting muddy ground.
After another moment, Elfman couldn't resist speaking first.
"Maybe... you made a mista—ARGH!!"
Before he could finish, everyone watched as Elfman appeared to be struck by an invisible, brutal uppercut.
His face contorted in pain as his burly body crashed heavily to the ground.
"Elf-nii!"
"Elfman!"
Lisanna and Evergreen immediately tried to rush forward, but Freed roared, "Don't move!"
It was futile.
The two women, having exposed openings, received heavy blows to their backs and chins just like Elfman, collapsing to the muddy ground.
"Damn it!"
Gray slammed his fist into his palm.
Rampant cold energy instantly formed into a dome of ice that erupted from the ground to protect the members.
Seizing this opportunity, Racer instantly activated his slowing magic at high speed and rapidly pulled the injured members back to safety.
The members stood back-to-back, their nerves stretched taut as they vigilantly watched their surroundings, wary of a sudden attack from the invisible assailant.
Gajeel didn't dare blink, stretching his arm to shield Levy behind him as he asked in a low voice.
"Salamander, the rain is too heavy—I can't smell that person's scent. What about you?"
Natsu scanned the area with frustration and reluctance, gritting his teeth as he replied, "Same here. I can't catch a scent, and I can't even hear any footsteps."
Lucy observed their surroundings and whispered, "We should be able to see the invisible person's position through the rain, but why…"
Crack—
The ice shards created by Gray were suddenly shattered.
Reacting swiftly, Gajeel raised his fists in front of him just in time to feel a tremendous force strike his iron arms.
Then the force intensified as the invisible assailant delivered a powerful kick, sending Gajeel flying backward.
"Got you now!"
Natsu's eyes lit up, and he quickly unleashed a Fire Dragon's Roar in front of Gajeel.
The scorching flames evaporated part of the rain, blasting a large crater into the ground.
"Did it hit?" Natsu frowned, having heard no sound from the enemy.
Suddenly, Natsu sensed a rush of wind from behind his head.
His beast-like combat instincts made him instinctively duck, and the sharp gust of wind narrowly grazed his scalp.
Gajeel, equally quick to act, charged forward first.
Covered in solid iron armor, he lunged fiercely toward the empty space above Natsu's head.
Feeling the sensation of a physical body in his grasp, Gajeel's heart surged with excitement.
He shouted loudly, "Everyone! Attack here, now!"
Seeing Gajeel in his iron form, clutching what appeared to be empty air in a human shape, everyone immediately unleashed their magic.
"Well done, Gajeel!"
Natsu summoned Dragon Fire from his lungs, Gray conjured ice from his palms, Wendy manipulated the atmosphere, Cana flung out explosive cards, Bickslow summoned his dolls, and Freed carved runes with his sword…
Everyone activated their magic, and a dazzling array of magical energies converged, all directed straight toward Gajeel's location.
The moment the combined magical energy wave struck, Gajeel rolled awkwardly to the ground and was sent flying back by the shockwave, while a ground-shaking explosion erupted in the exact spot he had just occupied.
Smoke still rose from the deep crater left by the magic blast.
Gajeel, his iron armor partially shattered, staggered to the edge of the crater and muttered in a low voice.
"It should be… over, right?"
Clap, clap, clap—
The members swiftly turned their vigilant gazes toward the source of the sound, only to see a man standing calmly in the rain, applauding them nonchalantly.
The man had a buzz cut, a skull mark etched on his forehead, no eyebrows, and a neatly trimmed stubble.
Dressed in a black suit, leather shoes, and gloves, he bore a striking resemblance to the Earth movie star Jason Statham…
Standing gracefully in the rain like a true gentleman, he finished clapping, placed his hands behind his back, and remarked with an appreciative smile:
"Fairy Tail, you do possess remarkable combat awareness. A pity, though—you're up against our Alvarez Empire."
Suppressing his anger, Natsu retorted, "You're the ones who should be worried! How dare you invade Tenrou Island?! Do you even realize you're facing Fairy Tail?!"
The man let out a contemptuous snort, eyeing the members who all looked disheveled from the previous battles, and said.
"I'm the world's strongest assassin, Jacob Lessio. In my eyes, what I am facing is nothing more than a pack of prey waiting to be slaughtered."
"You bastard—"
Enraged, Natsu immediately charged forward, swinging a fiery fist, but Jacob's dark figure vanished instantly before his eyes.
Then, in the next instant, he appeared directly behind Natsu, his hand formed into a blade chopping down toward Natsu's head.
But this time, his attack didn't land. Racer appeared behind Natsu, extending his arm to block Jacob's stealth strike.
With a hint of mockery visible beneath his goggles, Racer sneered, "Being fast is a good thing."
Jacob narrowed his eyes slightly, his gaze turning highly dangerous.
Not far away, Lucy couldn't help but exhale, "Having a former Oración Seis member as an ally feels strangely reassuring..."
"Huh? Oh... I guess so."
A voice of lazy agreement suddenly came from right beside her, and Lucy didn't react at first.
But two seconds later, Lucy sprang up as if her pants were on fire, pointing in terror at the green-haired woman who had appeared beside her completely unnoticed.
"Y-you... Who are you?!"
This woman had emerald green bangs, two blue-purple cross hair clips on her head, matching white cross earrings, and a yellow chain necklace around her neck.
At the same time, the Alvarez Empire insignia on her right thigh was particularly conspicuous.
"That insignia... It's an enemy, Lucy! Get away from there!"
Lucy quickly retreated. The green-haired woman looked at the frightened Lucy and muttered quietly.
"So troublesome... I really didn't want to come all this way to fight."
"But since His Majesty ordered it, let's just get this over with quickly..."
The green-haired woman lazily picked up a small stone from the ground and tossed it lightly toward Lucy.
Lucy looked at the flying stone—which was smaller than her thumb—and couldn't help but laugh.
"This attack of yours..."
The next moment, the lightly thrown stone instantly expanded dozens of times like an inflating balloon, flying toward her with the explosive force of a massive meteor!
Lucy stared blankly..... and screamed.
"IT'S HUGE!!!"
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